I can now add Interview to my growing list of magazine subscriptions. It’s insane, but when they advertise $10 for 10 issues, it’s just too good a deal to pass up. Besides, it might actually be a useful magazine to have in helping me develop my own publication. I had picked up the March 2010 issue from the staff lounge at work and was immediately captivated by the magazine’s concept: having famous people interview one another. It’s much more interesting to read a conversation between two famous people. For the purposes of this post, it was an interview of artist, Linder Sterling, by Morrissey.
I’m not going to spend too much time talking about the particulars of Linder except to mention that she came onto the punk/post-punk scene in the 70’s, namely by making a cover sleeve for Orgasm Addict by Buzzcocks. Her artwork extends beyond visual art into music and performance art, but I personally find her collage work most intriguing and close my heart, seeing as I’m a collage freak. I love how she exemplifies the use of women’s bodies as commodities by cutting out figures of women from porn mags and giving them everyday objects for body parts, like an iron for a head. In other works, she strategically places roses and other blossoms infront of women’s bodies. And her collages of Playboy models interspersed with desserts reminds me vaguely of a raunchier, more socially charged version of American Pie.
What’s cool is that the collages themselves aren’t as complicated as the messages they’re delivering. Back in the 70’s, I’m pretty sure they packed a punch when it came to threatening gender inequality. But what’s powerful about them is that Linder’s choice of imagery and the way she combines them into a cohesive picture is still really relevant some 20 odd years later.
Portraying the dichotomy between slut and wholesome rose. A flower by any other name would not smell as sweet.
Although, I am digging her plasticized corset and transparent raincoat.
Here are a couple image shots from her work in Vogue Italia for Prada Spring/Summer line. I love the use of orchids outlining the model’s spine. Style Bubble does a more in-depth post on this amazing artist.
Just desserts. Tell me women aren’t still viewed this way in popular media.
This is one of my favorite pieces of hers that I’ve found, The Recovery of Self. Partly because the pops of red, yellow and blue caught my eye but I won’t deny the pull of it’s Freudian/psychoanalytical undertones. There’s definitely a strong psychological component involved when a person instinctively selects certain images and relies on unconscious processes to create a collage. And that’s the amazing thing about collages; even when the artists can’t find words to describe how they feel, the collage will convey their emotions for them.
Hmmm. I don’t know how many more collage artists I have to “discover” before I get back into making collages. Maybe I should make a collage about it to figure it out…
Sources: Dazed Digital, Modern Art, Scorch Dallas
she's got plenty 